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Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- General services, such as education, employment, justice and health, as well as other community services and social protection programmes, must consider the provision of support to persons with disabilities. Similarly, programmes to end domestic violence should include appropriate forms of gender- and age-sensitive assistance and support for girls and women with disabilities. States should budget and plan for such measures when designing policies and programmes to ensure that support for persons with disabilities is available from the start.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Accessibility 2014, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Health care and social protection would remain unattainable for persons with disabilities without access to the premises where those services are provided. Even if the buildings where the health-care and social protection services are provided are themselves accessible, without accessible transportation, persons with disabilities are unable to travel to the places where the services are being provided. All information and communication pertaining to the provision of health care should be accessible through sign language, Braille, accessible electronic formats, alternative script, and augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication. It is especially important to take into account the gender dimension of accessibility when providing health care, particularly reproductive health care for women and girls with disabilities, including gynaecological and obstetric services.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Under article 4 of the Convention, "States parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized" therein. In the context of the rights of adolescents to health and development, States parties need to ensure that specific legal provisions are guaranteed under domestic law, including with regard to setting a minimum age for sexual consent, marriage and the possibility of medical treatment without parental consent. These minimum ages should be the same for boys and girls (article 2 of the Convention) and closely reflect the recognition of the status of human beings under 18 years of age as rights holders, in accordance with their evolving capacity, age and maturity (arts. 5 and 12 to 17). Further, adolescents need to have easy access to individual complaint systems as well as judicial and appropriate non-judicial redress mechanisms that guarantee fair and due process, with special attention to the right to privacy (art. 16).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is concerned that early marriage and pregnancy are significant factors in health problems related to sexual and reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS. Both the legal minimum age and actual age of marriage, particularly for girls, are still very low in several States parties. There are also non-health-related concerns: children who marry, especially girls, are often obliged to leave the education system and are marginalized from social activities. Further, in some States parties married children are legally considered adults, even if they are under 18, depriving them of all the special protection measures they are entitled under the Convention. The Committee strongly recommends that States parties review and, where necessary, reform their legislation and practice to increase the minimum age for marriage with and without parental consent to 18 years, for both girls and boys. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has made a similar recommendation (general comment No. 21 of 1994).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents have the right to access adequate information essential for their health and development and for their ability to participate meaningfully in society. It is the obligation of States parties to ensure that all adolescent girls and boys, both in and out of school, are provided with, and not denied, accurate and appropriate information on how to protect their health and development and practise healthy behaviours. This should include information on the use and abuse, of tobacco, alcohol and other substances, safe and respectful social and sexual behaviours, diet and physical activity.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- In light of articles 3, 17 and 24 of the Convention, States parties should provide adolescents with access to sexual and reproductive information, including on family planning and contraceptives, the dangers of early pregnancy, the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In addition, States parties should ensure that they have access to appropriate information, regardless of their marital status and whether their parents or guardians consent. It is essential to find proper means and methods of providing information that is adequate and sensitive to the particularities and specific rights of adolescent girls and boys. To this end, States parties are encouraged to ensure that adolescents are actively involved in the design and dissemination of information through a variety of channels beyond the school, including youth organizations, religious, community and other groups and the media.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents, both girls and boys, are at risk of being infected with and affected by STDs, including HIV/AIDS. States should ensure that appropriate goods, services and information for the prevention and treatment of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, are available and accessible. To this end, States parties are urged (a) to develop effective prevention programmes, including measures aimed at changing cultural views about adolescents' need for contraception and STD prevention and addressing cultural and other taboos surrounding adolescent sexuality; (b) to adopt legislation to combat practices that either increase adolescents' risk of infection or contribute to the marginalization of adolescents who are already infected with STDs, including HIV; (c) to take measures to remove all barriers hindering the access of adolescents to information, preventive measures such as condoms, and care.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Adolescent girls should have access to information on the harm that early marriage and early pregnancy can cause, and those who become pregnant should have access to health services that are sensitive to their rights and particular needs. States parties should take measures to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in adolescent girls, particularly caused by early pregnancy and unsafe abortion practices, and to support adolescent parents. Young mothers, especially where support is lacking, may be prone to depression and anxiety, compromising their ability to care for their child. The Committee urges States parties (a) to develop and implement programmes that provide access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, contraception and safe abortion services where abortion is not against the law, adequate and comprehensive obstetric care and counselling; (b) to foster positive and supportive attitudes towards adolescent parenthood for their mothers and fathers; and (c) to develop policies that will allow adolescent mothers to continue their education.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 39d
- Paragraph text
- [In exercising their obligations in relation to the health and development of adolescents, States parties shall always take fully into account the four general principles of the Convention. It is the view of the Committee that States parties must take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the realization and monitoring of the rights of adolescents to health and development as recognized in the Convention. To this end, States parties must notably fulfil the following obligations:] To ensure that adolescent girls and boys have the opportunity to participate actively in planning and programming for their own health and development;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The obligation of States parties to protect children (art. 24) should be carried out equally for boys and girls. States parties should report on measures taken to ensure that girls are treated equally to boys in education, in feeding and in health care, and provide the Committee with disaggregated data in this respect. States parties should eradicate, both through legislation and any other appropriate measures, all cultural or religious practices which jeopardize the freedom and well-being of female children.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Persons with disabilities are particularly affected by forced medical interventions, and continue to be exposed to non-consensual medical practices (A/63/175, para. 40). In the case of children in health-care settings, an actual or perceived disability may diminish the weight given to the child's views in determining their best interests, or may be taken as the basis of substitution of determination and decision-making by parents, guardians, carers or public authorities. Women living with disabilities, with psychiatric labels in particular, are at risk of multiple forms of discrimination and abuse in health-care settings. Forced sterilization of girls and women with disabilities has been widely documented. National law in Spain, among other countries, allows for the sterilization of minors who are found to have severe intellectual disabilities. The Egyptian Parliament failed to include a provision banning the use of sterilization as a "treatment" for mental illness in its patient protection law. In the United States, 15 states have laws that fail to protect women with disabilities from involuntary sterilization.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Child participation 2012, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- In Yemen, the Children's Parliament has democratically elected representatives from all governorates and includes orphans, children with disabilities and young people belonging to marginalized groups. It regularly meets Government departments and non-governmental organizations. In 2008, it produced a public report on the situation of children in Yemen. In 2010, it carried out a national campaign to illustrate the impact of early marriage on the lives and health of young girls, which has led to a review of Yemeni legislation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The role of medical and forensic sciences in the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment for children deprived of their liberty is clear (see A/69/387, paras. 19-57). All children are to be properly interviewed and physically examined by a medical doctor or qualified nurse reporting to a doctor as soon as possible after their admission to an institution, preferably on the day of arrival. In the case of girls, access to gynaecologists and education on women's health care are to be provided.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Girls deprived of their liberty are at a heightened risk of sexual violence, sexual exploitation and underage pregnancies while in detention. The risk of sexual abuse is greater when male guards supervise girls in detention. Girls deprived of their liberty have different needs not only to those of adults but also of boys. Girls in detention are often not only children but also carers, either as mothers or as siblings, and have specific health, hygiene and sanitary needs. Across the globe, girls are rarely kept separately from women in pretrial and post-conviction settings (see A/HRC/16/52/Add.3, para. 54). Similarly, the Special Rapporteur notes that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children are at a heightened risk.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 86g
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to conditions during detention, the Special Rapporteur calls upon all States:] To respond to the specific needs of groups of children that are even more vulnerable to ill-treatment or torture, such as girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, and children with disabilities;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Failure to provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities has far-reaching effects and may amount to violations of the rights to water or sanitation. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities raised concerns about water and sanitation service provision not taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the lack of reasonable accommodation in sanitation facilities for children with disabilities in schools, in extreme instances forcing parents to stay at school with their children to allow them to meet their sanitation needs. Moreover, inadequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management have been shown to prevent girls from attending school, as well as creating serious health consequences. People with health conditions also often require particular protection. The Colombian Constitutional Court found that the disconnection of water services to a woman with chronic kidney failure violated the right to life, and ordered the reinstatement of the service.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The following case study from the African region elucidates the myriad factors required to develop and maintain a good practice in addressing violence against girls, as well as the attendant impacts on the right to health, safety and access to justice, among others. The background to the case begins with a constitutional reform process undertaken with high levels of public engagement, resulting in 2010 in a robust new constitution that included strong equality provisions, the incorporation of international and regional human rights treaties and the creation of an ameliorating environment for public interest litigation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Comprehensive, rights-based and child-centred care, recovery and reintegration programmes 2015, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Gender-based discrimination and inequalities also play a large role in the propagation of sexual exploitation of children, in particular girls and children who identify as transgender. Sexual exploitation of girls is often rooted in patriarchal structures that promote male sexual domination and do not condemn the commercialization of girls and women. Culturally imposed feminine gender stereotypes also contribute to sexual exploitation of women and girls by placing them in the role of serving males, negating their ability to make decisions regarding their own sexual and reproductive life and making them prime targets for sexual violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The lack of sufficient specialized shelters for women and girls victims of violence contributes to their invisibility and silencing. Even when government-run shelters are available, the Special Rapporteur has noted in most of her country missions the crucial role played by non-governmental organizations in managing shelter facilities and offering psychological, medical and legal assistance to women victims of violence. Whether privately funded or receiving governmental grants, these centres are usually insufficient in number, lack human and material resources, and are commonly concentrated in areas that are not accessible to all women. While commending the work of civil society organizations, the Special Rapporteur has noted that the due diligence obligation to protect women from violence rests primarily upon the State and its agents. It is therefore the responsibility of States to ensure accessibility and availability of effective protection and support services to victims of domestic violence. Further, the Special Rapporteur has raised concern at the lack of policy guidelines across health, psychosocial and legal sectors ensuring coordinated, prompt and supportive services to victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Core obligations of States parties under article 2 2010, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- States parties in particular are obliged to promote the equal rights of girls since girls are part of the larger community of women and are more vulnerable to discrimination in such areas as access to basic education, trafficking, maltreatment, exploitation and violence. All these situations of discrimination are aggravated when the victims are adolescents. Therefore, States shall pay attention to the specific needs of (adolescent) girls by providing education on sexual and reproductive health and carrying out programmes that are aimed at the prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexual exploitation and teenage pregnancy.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Criminal laws and other legal restrictions affecting sexual and reproductive health may amount to violations of the right to health. Although the present report deals predominantly with the impact of these laws and legal restrictions on women and girls, it by no means discounts similar problems faced by men and boys. Women, however, are generally more likely to experience infringements of their right to sexual and reproductive health given the physiology of human reproduction and the gendered social, legal and economic context in which sexuality, fertility, pregnancy and parenthood occur. Persistent stereotyping of women's roles within society and the family establish and fuel societal norms. Many of those norms are based on the belief that the freedom of a woman, especially with regard to her sexual identity, should be curtailed and regulated (see E/CN.4/2002/83, para. 99). Where women transgress these stereotype-driven norms in the pursuit of sexual and reproductive freedom, they are often punished severely, with resultant adverse effects on their health outcomes and violations of their right to health. The criminal laws and other legal restrictions examined in the present report facilitate and justify State control over women's life, such as forcing women to continue unwanted or unplanned pregnancies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The causal relationship between the gender stereotyping, discrimination and marginalization of women and girls and their enjoyment of their right to sexual and reproductive health is well documented (see E/CN.4/2002/83 and E/CN.4/2004/49). Criminalization generates and perpetuates stigma; restricts their ability to make full use of available sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information; denies their full participation in society; and distorts perceptions among health-care professionals which, as a consequence, can hinder their access to health-care services. Criminal laws and other legal restrictions disempower women, who may be deterred from taking steps to protect their health, in order to avoid liability and out of fear of stigmatization. By restricting access to sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information these laws can also have a discriminatory effect, in that they disproportionately affect those in need of such resources, namely women. As a result, women and girls are punished both when they abide by these laws, and are thus subjected to poor physical and mental health outcomes, and when they do not, and thus face incarceration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has strongly disapproved of restrictive abortion laws, especially those that prohibit and criminalize abortion in all circumstances (see CEDAW/C/CH/CO/4, para. 19). It has also confirmed that such legislation does not prevent women from procuring unsafe illegal abortions and has framed restrictive abortion laws as a violation of the rights to life, health and information. The Committee on the Rights of the Child is also concerned about the impact of highly restrictive abortion laws on the right to health of adolescent girls. The Committee against Torture has further stated that punitive abortion laws should be reassessed since they lead to violations of a woman's right to be free from inhuman and cruel treatment. The Human Rights Committee concluded that equality between men and women required equal treatment in the area of health and the elimination of discrimination in the provision of goods and services and addressed the need to review abortion laws to prevent rights violations (see CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.10, paras. 20, 28 and 31). The former Special Rapporteur on the right to health called for removal of punitive measures against women who seek abortions (see E/CN.4/2004/49, para. 30).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that legal grounds largely shape the course for women with an unplanned pregnancy towards a safe or an unsafe abortion. As legal restrictions primarily influence whether abortion is safe or not, more unsafe abortions are likely to occur in legal regimes that are more restrictive of abortion. The rate of unsafe abortions and the ratio of unsafe to safe abortions both directly correlate to the degree to which abortion laws are restrictive and/or punitive. Unsafe abortions are estimated to account for nearly 13 per cent of all maternal deaths globally. A further 5 million women and girls suffer short- and long-term injuries due to unsafe abortions, including haemorrhage; sepsis; trauma to the vagina, uterus and abdominal organs; cervical tearing; peritonitis; reproductive tract infections; pelvic inflammatory disease and chronic pelvic pain; shock and infertility.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The criminalization of abortion also has a severe impact on mental health. The need to seek illegal health services and the intense stigmatization of both the abortion procedure and women who seek such procedures can have deleterious effects on women's mental health. In some cases, women have committed suicide because of accumulated pressures and stigma related to abortion. In jurisdictions where rape is not a ground for termination of pregnancy, women and girls who are pregnant as a result of rape but who do not wish to continue their pregnancy are either forced to carry the pregnancy to term or seek an illegal abortion. Both options can cause enormous anguish. In electing to pursue either option, the overarching threat of being investigated, prosecuted and punished within the criminal justice system has significant negative impacts on the emotional health and well-being of both those who seek abortions and those who do not. Moreover, while the psychological impact of seeking an illegal abortion or carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term is well documented, no corresponding evidence supports the existence of long-term mental health sequelae resulting from elective abortion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Other laws restricting access to family planning and contraception include a city-wide de facto ban on so-called "artificial" contraception in one jurisdiction, which created significant difficulty for women in accessing reliable forms of birth control (see A/HRC/14/20/Add.1). A total of 70 per cent of the affected population, a majority of whom were poor and marginalized, depended on Government providers for services including female sterilization, oral pills, intrauterine devices and injectables (ibid.). The ban resulted in the absolute deprivation of access to family planning services and contraception for many women and men. In other instances, States require women to obtain their husband's consent and adolescents to obtain parental consent before acquiring various forms of contraception. Other jurisdictions allow pharmacists, and in some cases pharmacies, to refuse to dispense emergency contraception, which is otherwise legally available. These laws directly infringe upon the right of women and girls to make free and informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health and reflect discriminatory notions of women's roles in the family and society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Studies have shown that while few young people have accurate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, women are generally even less well informed than men. In a UNAIDS study of 147 countries, whereas more than 70 per cent of young men were found to recognize that condoms can protect against HIV, only 55 per cent of young women identified condoms as an effective strategy for HIV prevention. Women and girls are disproportionally impacted by legal restrictions to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and information, which both reinforces and exacerbates the gender inequalities that the figures demonstrate. The existence of legal restrictions on access to sexual and reproductive health information and education lead to the provision of inaccurate information through informal sources that are often inaccurate and may reinforce negative gender stereotypes. As a result, young women are less prepared for their sexual and reproductive lives, leaving them vulnerable to coercion, abuse and exploitation, as well as to an increased risk of unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- In jurisdictions where aspects of sexual and reproductive health are criminalized, the availability and accessibility of related information is greatly restricted. For example, penal codes may contain specific provisions that prohibit dispensing information on the prevention or interruption of pregnancies, or materials that supposedly conflict with notions of morality or decency. Punishments can range from fines to imprisonment. Moreover, the restriction of information relating to health can be an unintended result of laws relating to other information, such as pornography laws, which can also extend to criminalize sexual and reproductive health materials. Thus, public health and empowerment programmes and activities that rely on such information - educational campaigns on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection prevention, family planning, domestic violence, gender discrimination, female genital mutilation, sexual diversity, overall sexual and reproductive health - are effectively prohibited. Women and girls are most likely to be affected by this gap in available services and programming because they are exposed to a higher risk of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, maternal mortality, unsafe abortion and unwanted or unplanned pregnancies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- States that implement and enforce criminal or other laws to restrict access to sexual and reproductive health information actively reduce access to information and therefore do not meet their obligation to respect the right to health. As a consequence of such laws and the stigma they generate, third parties, such as teachers, publishers, or booksellers may also deny women and girls access to necessary sexual and reproductive health materials. The obligation of States to fulfil the right to health requires that they develop strategies to ensure that comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and information is provided to everyone, especially women and young girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 20
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- Certain human rights obligations related to hygiene can be inferred from the rights to water and sanitation, as well as the right to health, the right to food, the right to privacy, human dignity and other human rights. This report focuses on the human rights obligations related to hand-washing at appropriate times, menstrual hygiene, management of child faeces and domestic food hygiene. A working group created under WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation explained that "… various components are considered essential to menstrual hygiene management. The first is that women and adolescent girls use clean materials to absorb or collect menstrual blood, and are able to change them in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of their menstrual period. It also involves using soap and water for washing the body as required, and having access to safe and convenient facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials. Further, women and girls need access to basic information about the menstrual cycle and how to manage it with dignity and without discomfort or fear."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
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